Business | Technology
Yahoo's second-quarter earnings fail to match CEO's enthusiasm
Company's profit has slipped for the ninth time in last ten quarters.
- AP
- Published: 00:03 July 24, 2008
San Francisco: With Microsoft's $47.5 billion takeover bid off the table and his company's stock price down 20 per cent during his 13-month reign as Yahoo's CEO, Jerry Yang has a message for his exasperated shareholders: Things aren't as bleak as they look.
"This company is doing just fine in a tough economy and a tough environment," Yang told The Associated Press. "We think there are a lot of good things to come still."
Yahoo's second-quarter results did not provide much reason for enthusiasm. But at least they were not as bad as many investors feared after Yahoo spent months sparring with Microsoft and dissident shareholder Carl Icahn while also trying to cope with a weakening US economy that is make it tougher to sell online advertising - the company's lifeblood.
"It was a 'rice-cracker' quarter," said Canaccord Adams analyst Colin Gillis. "It didn't taste great, but it wasn't totally horrible either."
Some respite
Investors found enough to like to nudge Yahoo shares up 59 cents, or 2.8 per cent, to $21.99 in Tuesday's extended trading after finishing at $21.40, down 27 cents, in the regular session.
The stock still remains slightly below where it stood last week before Google set off alarms about the state of the online ad market with second-quarter earnings that came in below analyst estimates.
The April-June period marks the ninth time in the past 10 quarters that Yahoo's profit has slipped from the previous year.
The company earned $131 million, or nine cents per share, an 18 per cent drop from $161 million, or 11 cents per share, last year.
Analysts had projected earnings of 11 cents per share in the most recent quarter, according to Thomson Financial.
Yahoo's financial erosion has dragged down its stock, leaving it exposed to Microsoft's unsolicited takeover bid and igniting shareholder protests.
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